9 nights in the wilderness and I survived

[a1albert]

Last winter my son invited me on an Elk hunt in Idaho that would be in October and I could not refuse. This hunt was with an Outfitter that would take us in on horseback and leave us for 9 days at 6300 feet. My son said we had two travel light so I had to figure out what to do about my cpap machine. I had a Respironics REMstarPlus M series machine so I tested it with an amp meter and it was drawing less than 0.5 amps with pressure at 6 and altitude of 7000 feet. I looked at batteries and settled on a 12 pound 18 amp agm battery and a 12 watt 0.8 amps folding solar. I sleep 7 hours a night and the sun would rise at 7 am and set at 7 pm. This sounded good but after doing a 5 day test in March I found out that this setup was not keeping up so I got another 12 watt panel and hooked them together and was set to go.

October came and we took off but things were not quite right. We got to camp and our tents were in the timber and not out in the clear basin like I figured. I set my solar panels out in the clearing about 75 yards from our tents and at 19 degrees it was cold taking the battery out to the solar panels in the morning before daylight. Another problem was we were tucked up against a mountain and the sun did not hit my panels till 10 o’clock. Problem number three was these 3 other clowns sleep 9 to 10 hours a night, not the 7 that I am use to but I did the same. One night after about 5 hours of sleep I shut my machine off to conserve on the battery but that lasted about a half hour and my son told me to put my mask back on so I would stop snoring and he could go back to sleep.

I started with the battery at 12.8 volts and after 9 nights it was at 11.97 volts so I made it. Some days were clear and some were cloudy. I did not have a humidifier but some nights because of the cold weather I got water at my nasal pillow and ice on my sleeping pillow.
I guess in the perfect camping world of midsummer my battery could have lasted for ever. The setup worked and I survived 9 nights without 120 volts of electricity and had a good time.
Albert

[gosman]

What an inspiration you are to all of us! I have decided that I probably would never be able to camp out in the wilderness again. But you have proved me wrong. I'm not sure I would invest in the hardware and put up with the weight though. I guess I will stick with the cruises into remote areas with my trusty S9 securely set in my stateroom!

[Slinky]

Congratulations and right on, A1Albert!!!! You really are an inspiration and proof that one should never underestimate the power and ingenuity of a determined apnean!!!!

And, Gosman, how brave of you to also opt to "brave the great outdoors" w/those cruises into remote areas!!!

Hey, to each his own and whatever works for you. Right on. Whatever floats your boat. Its the quality of life that counts. And it is great to see both of you making the most of it.

[rosiefrosie]

Congrats to you! Did you have fun & did you get an Elk? Northern Idaho is beautiful, is that where you were?

rosie

[sleepycarol]

In the past, my son has went elk hunting with his father-in-law (he was able to go two years). He said it was a wonderful experience, except rolling partially down the mountain in his sleep. His father-in-law uses a cpap and decided not to take it. He snores like a freight train and J.W. decided to sleep a little ways from the tent so that he wouldn't be bothered by the noise. He is a sound sleeper and didn't realize in his tossing and turning that he was rolling down hill. Said it got really cold at night as well. Thankfully he had a good sleeping bag with him and he doesn't mind sleeping under the stars.

They were in Colorado. He came back with some awesome pictures from these camping trips.

[adksleepygal]

I love this story! Thanks for sharing your experience. Positive feedback and inspiration is a wonderful thing. I enjoyed reading this so much. I doubt I will ever become an elk hunter
but our annual month long stay in Florida is coming up and we drive 1500+ miles over 2 days. I was dreading even thinking of bringing Mr Cpap along with me but if you can do it - what do I have to complain about ?? Awesome!

[a1albert]

I forgot to add that my compleat setup only weighed 18 pounds including the battery, cpap machine, mask, 12volt cable connections, and the two solar panels. Everything fit in my cpap bag except the battery that I put in a bag all by itself. When we came back from the morning hunts two of the guys took an hour knap but my son and I stayed up and set around the camp fire talking and having a good time until the evening hunt. I never felt tired as if I needed to take a knap but I was sore from all the hiking. We hunted hard and hiked about 3 miles each hunt, hunting from 6300 feet up to 7200 feet. The morning that my son shot his bull I hiked 7 miles from where i was at to camp to get supplies, then up to him and back to camp. We were camped 3-4 miles north west of Deadwood Reservoir in the Frank Church River Of No Return Wilderness in a basin called Tranquil Basin. We used Deadwood Outfitters, they packed us in on horses and left us for 9 days and then came in and packed us out at the end of the hunt. The experience was great even though I did not get an Elk.

Albert

[roster]

Albert is so Da Man!

[Sirca]

It's not a fair hunt until the poor elks can get solar-powered CPAP machines, too.

[FoxNewsFan]

I too am very happy that you decided to go. Experiences like this with your positive attitude will add YEARS to your life. Your son has a great role model.

Take care,
Ed

[brazospearl]

This sounds like it was an awesome experience! Congratulations on finding a way to make sure you had your therapy while you were in the middle of nowhere. I am in awe of your creativity and determination.

[roster]

It's not a fair hunt until the poor elks can get solar-powered CPAP machines, too.

Good point because:

Sleep Apnea and Narcolepsy: Sleeping Disorders in Elk

Has your elk been yelping and barking continuously at odd hours of the night? Or does he bang walls, knock over furniture or kick you in the head while dreaming? Though it may sound funny, the truth of the matter is that your elk may be suffering from a sleep disorder.
We have often heard of sleep disorders in humans, but studies have proven that sleep disorders in elk do exist. Research has shown that elk share at least three common sleep disorders with their human counterparts: dreaming (and therefore, possibly nightmares,) narcolepsy and sleep apnea. These disorders can prevent your elk from receiving the proper amount of rest he needs to function properly.
Sleep apnea in humans is considered to be a potentially life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. Sleep apnea is the most common disorder in elk. English bull elk are considered as being especially susceptible. Sleep apnea also affects overweight and inactive elk.
Another sleep disorder in elk that is frequently inherited is narcolepsy. Affected elk are often described as falling fast asleep right in their track. Narcolepsy causes cataplectic attacks. Elk suddenly lose control of their hind legs or even collapse in complete, limb-numbing paralysis. It is believed that during these attacks, elk are entirely aware of their surroundings and can track things with their eyes. The attacks are often provoked by excitement, such as feeding or play. The attacks usually last only a few seconds, although severe episodes can last for several minutes. Calling out to the elk or touching the elk may sometimes terminate an attack.
Some of the breeds of elk in which narcolepsy is found include doberman elk, labrador elk, and miniature elk. Narcolepsy occurs in other breeds of elk as well. Narcolepsy can often be treated successfully with certain drugs, including methylphenidate, modafinil, dextroamphetamine and pemoline. The major side effects of medications such as these are irritability, anxiety, a quickened heart rate, hypertension, substance abuse, and, paradoxically in some cases, disturbances of nocturnal sleep.
Stanford based researchers have identified the causes of narcolepsy in elk. This research is being linked with human narcolepsy and the information that has been found here is being used in research in order to try and find the actual underlying cause of the sleeping disorder itself. A comparison between the human gene map and the genes of elk thato suffer from narcolepsy has in fact fortunately led to the discovery of a literal and mutual deficiency in hypocretin, which is a chemical that is found in the brain that when absent seems to lead to the narcolepsy disorder.
Though studies show that narcolepsy is frequently inherited, it has been found that a narcoleptic -- whether elk or human -- will in fact have no close relatives that share the disorder, and usually even if there is an identical twin involved, even they will not suffer from the disorder.
http://www.cantfalltosleep.com/sleeping-dogs.html

[a1albert]

Very Good point Rooster, next time I get an Elk tag I will try to get a doberman elk, labrador elk, or a miniature elk tag so I can get them while they are sleeping. I checked here in Oregon an all they sell is Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain Elk tags. I hope Idaho has one of those other Elk tags that would be sweet. If the Elk snore like I do I would have no problem finding them.

I check with Resperonics today and they said my machine can go safely down to 11.5 volts so I was good for a few more days.

Albert

[rested gal]

What an interesting account of your trip, Albert. Thank you for posting it.

I've added a link to your good topic to the collection here:

LINKS to Battery operation, camping, power outage
viewtopic.php?t=9682

[bigrak]

Great post! This is the reason I joined this forum to figure out how I can get to use my resmed S8 on my elk hunting trip this October.